After a decline in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU’s population has increased for the second consecutive year, rising from 447.6 million on 1 January 2023 to 449.2 million people on 1 January 2024. The negative natural change (more deaths than births) was outnumbered by the positive net migration. The observed population growth can be largely attributed to the increased migratory movements post-COVID-19 and to the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine who received temporary protection status in EU countries, as a consequence of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022. (....)